The Small Business HR Playbook (Toolkit 03)
Product Details
Stop making every HR decision from scratch. The Small Business HR Playbook is a practical, fillable workbook that walks small business owners through seven steps, about four days each, to build the policies, documentation, and rhythms your team can trust.
Inside, you'll build your handbook foundation with a core policy checklist, set clear time off and leave policies, write job descriptions that actually hold up at review time, build a performance review rhythm with a quarterly check in template, handle employee relations with a difficult conversation script and a documentation record, run a compliance audit across hiring, pay, workplace, and records, and turn all of it into an HR rhythm you actually keep.
Every step includes a short read, a tool you fill in on the spot, a Short On Time shortcut for busy weeks, a list of common mistakes to avoid, and a check in to mark real progress. Built for owners who'd rather build it once than fix it twice, this is the third toolkit in the Unified Linc series: People, Process, Growth.
The problem it solves
Without written policies, every HR question gets answered from scratch, and often differently each time. That leads to confusion, complaints about fairness, and compliance gaps you do not see until there is a problem.
Who it's for
- Owners with employees but no HR department
- Businesses with an outdated handbook, or none at all
- Owners who handle difficult employee conversations themselves
- Anyone unsure whether their hiring, pay, and records practices are compliant
What's included
Seven steps, about four days each:
- A core policy checklist for your handbook foundation
- Time off and leave policies
- Job description templates that hold up at review time
- A performance review rhythm with a quarterly check in template
- A difficult conversation script and a documentation record
- A compliance audit across hiring, pay, workplace, and records
- An HR rhythm you can keep up
Every step includes a short read, a tool you fill in on the spot, a Short On Time shortcut, common mistakes to avoid, and a progress check in. Fillable PDF. Instant download.
How it makes your work easier
- Employees get the same answer every time
- Problems are documented before they escalate
- Reviews happen on a schedule instead of when someone complains
- You find compliance gaps on your own terms
Why Unified Linc
Unified Linc toolkits are built by co-founders Lindsey Meske and Nicole Evans. Lindsey has run Meske, LLC, a business systems and data consulting firm, since 2008. She spent more than nine years building a healthcare staffing company's back office from scratch, including payroll, billing, credentialing, benefits, and recruiting, as it grew to about $22 million in revenue. Nicole is Unified Linc's People and Organizational Strategist. These playbooks turn that hands on experience into steps you can finish in about 30 days.